Shokugeki no Souma
63

Plan

p1Souma: Nakiri Alice---!Alice: So you're my opponent for the first round, Yukihira-kun.Alice: I was really looking forward to your dishes.Alice: I mean...We were on different blocks during the preliminaries, weren't we?Alice: But, it's a shame...It's the long-awaited big stageAlice: And I'll only be able to see one of your dishes (music note)Cutlery: Fearless---!!"Shokugeki-no SOMA"

p2Souma: You'll be able to see them from the second round onwards from the audience, won't you?Alice: I don't think that will be possible.Alice: Artisan skills that rely on acrobatics and old-fashioned ideasAlice: Won't be enough to surpass the wisdom of gourmet food---Shokugeki-no SOMA(cutlery) 63 Plan //Maybe "Trick"Cutlery: Souma VS Cutting-edge techniques, does he have any chance---!?Story: Tsukuda YuutoArt: Saeki ShunCollaborator: Morisaki Yuki

p3SFX: *pour*SFX: *pour*Guy: What's all that...!?Guy: She keeps taking out containers you would see in a laboratory...!Guy: I don't know what more than half of those are for...Yuuki: M...Marui, explain it!Zenji: This is...Outside of my field of knowledge.Yuuki: Eeeeeeh!? Are those glasses just for show!?Zenji: I...I'm ashamed...Ryouko: It's like a chemistry experiment...!

p4Alice: Hmmmmm...Alice: My Japanese DNA is delighted (music note)Alice: Well then...Voice: Oh...She's finally cooking normally.Voice: That's...Sliced bonito?Voice: Whooooa, she's perfectly accurate! That's some amazing knife technique!!Souma: Hmm...Alice: What is it?Souma: Well...You said that the era of artisan skills is over,Souma: But you're pretty skilled yourself.Alice: Of course I am,Alice: This isn't but the basics.

p5Alice: Geez...To think you're staring at others,Alice: That's rude.Souma: I remember someone staring at me too, you know... (cd: This doesn't feel right.)Asterisk: From Volume 4Voice: Anyway, Yukihira Souma...He's really unlucky.Voice: Yeah...Facing Nakiri Alice-san...The granddaughter of the Academy's Director so suddenly.Voice: The result is pretty obvious...All: ...Ikumi: Damn it, Yukihira...I hope you have some kind of plan.Ikumi: You won't win with just any random dish, you know!?Ryouko: ...Box: ---The day before, at the Polar Star Dorm.

p6Souma: Hmmm...Bento...Souma: Bento, huh...Souma(thinks): The shopping district in my hometown had "Tomitaya". (cd: I wonder if Kurase is doing fine)Souma(thinks): And some of our regular clients at Yukihira ordered Bento sometimes so I have the know-how.Souma(thinks): What should I make...There's Makuno-uchi Bento, Salmon Bento, Fried Pork Bento, //Makuno-uchi Bento: A Bento containing rice and 10-15 small portions of fish, meat, and vegetablesSouma(thinks): The character Bentos are in a fad right now, too.Souma(thinks): ...These are the regulations they just gave me:Souma(thinks): "Your dish must be put inside the container with a lid...Namely the Bento Box."Souma(thinks): "Each of the Bento Box dimensions (width, height, and length) must not be over 30cm."Souma(thinks): "The tasting will be done immediately but the dishes must be able to keep for half a day."Souma(thinks): In other words...I should imagine it as a Bento that's delivered freshly made to the customers at a defined timeSouma(thinks): Or as the kind of Bento that you would buy for lunch after going outside.Souma: ...

p7Souma: ---Yeah, for me, a Bento...Souma: Must be that one!SFX: *mumble*SFX: *mumble*Souma: !?Ryouko: Yukihira-kun, you're making test dishes?Ryouko: That Megumi, she's concentrating really hard...Ryouko: Her spirit is just like when she's about to play Ping-Pong.Souma: You're right...She's making the eyes of the "Tohoku Hopping Hare".Ryouko: Megumi...She's becoming stronger and stronger.Megumi: Awawawawawa, what should I make...?Souma: She's mumbling "awawa", though... (cd: Is she ok?)Box: By the way, Yuuki is making goods to cheer for Megumi.Fan: Go <3 MegumiSouma: ......Alright...Souma: I can't lose to her!

p8Ryouko: ...I see, Yukihira-kun's theme is Bento.Souma: Ah, that's right, Isshiki-senpai just gave me these.Ryouko: Wah...! What a variety of Bento Boxes...Souma: I can choose one of these and it seems I can also modify them.Ryouko: I see! You can also use the type that where you pile them...Ryouko: How you use the boxes is important too, huh...Souma: Yeah...I mean, Nakiri Alice is sure to come up with some kind plan.Ryouko: You're up against Nakiri Alice!!?Ryouko: Y...Your luck for lotteries is horrible!Souma: I would end up against her eventually so going against her first is actually good.Souma: Anyway, seeing Sakaki so flustered is quite unusual.Ryouko: This is no time to be laughing!!Ryouko: Wh...What kind of Bento do you plan to make right now!?

p9Souma: A Nori Bento! //Nori: a species of edible seaweedAsterisk: {A Bentou where the nori, which gives the rice its taste, is spread over the rice.It includes the following three side dishes:1) Fried white-flesh fish2) An Isobeage of Chikuwa //Isobeage: fried food wrapped in nori, chikuwa: tube-shaped fish-paste cake3) Kinpira Gobo //Kinpira-style sauteed burdockThis Bento can be bought with only 300 yen which is one of its charms.}Ryouko: Nori Bento...!Ryouko(thinks): This Bento is so like Yukihira-kun...Souma: Hmm? Why do you look exhausted, Sakaki?Ryouko: Why wouldn't I!? Wh...Why Nori Bento!?Ryouko: There's no need to do such a cheap Bento, there's plenty of other options...Souma: Hey...Souma: If you're going to say that much, why don't you try it?

p11Souma: Because I fried it using beer! //lol with the parody of AsahiRyouko: I see...! It's because of the properties of alcohol!Ryouko(thinks): Since it volatilizes faster than water when frying itRyouko(thinks): It doesn't stick and the fish gets fried with a light texture!Ryouko: This "Isobeage" made using a homemade fish chikuwa too...Ryouko: An amazingly good taste is brimming over...! And this sauce...Ryouko: It's not...An ordinary tartar sauce!?Souma: That's right! You usually use pickles for tartar sauce, but...Souma: I made this from "Japanese leek" and "Shibazuke". //shibazuke = salted chopped pickled vegetablesSouma: It gives it a milder taste and it goes well with rice.Ryouko(thinks): Aah...Wow...Ryouko(thinks): While this flavor is still in my mouthRyouko(thinks): I'll gulp down the rice...

p12 //LOL XDDDDDDDDDDDDRyouko(thinks): ---Ah,Ryouko(thinks): The aroma of the seashore (Iso)Isobe: Is wrapping me ~de sourou.Asterisk: He's "Iso"beesd: It's great//Ok, this guy is Isobee Isobe from theIsobe Isobee Isobe Monogatari (a gag series currently published in Jump), the first kanji for his last name “Isobee” and the first kanji for “Isobeage” are the same and mean seashore/beach, and IsobeIsobee finishes almost all his sentences with “~ de sourou”

p13Ryouko's sd: Wh...Who's that!?Ryouko(thinks): A fragrantly flavored nori!!Ryouko(thinks): This is what kindly takes in and puts all the other ingredients together...!!Ryouko(thinks): The faint sea smell and the mild flavorRyouko(thinks): Keep the Bento balanced as a whole!Souma: The nori becomes a division that doesn't let the side dishes' taste soak in the rice.Souma: And, if you put the side dishes on top of the rice, they won't cool down easily.Souma: Nori Bentou has a strong consistency on its flavor...It has great collective strength.Souma: It truly is the king of Bento...!! //"Royal road of Bento" sounds too weirdSouma: And that's exactly why it holds unlimited possibilities---

p14Souma(thinks): I'll make this evolve one step furtherSouma(thinks): And find a way to defeat Nakiri Alice...Souma: ...Souma: I guess I'll watch the preliminaries' video again.Souma: It really is amazing...Souma: That's a curry dish, right?Ryouko: ...Ryouko: This is the dish that gave her the highest score of the preliminaries...Ryouko: The judges were different people so it's difficult to make a real comparison,Ryouko: But the truth is that she scored 95 points which is even more than Hayama-kun did...!

p15Souma: I want to eat it...Souma: Do you think she'll make it if I ask her...?Ryouko(thinks): He's so carefree even when he's fighting her tomorrow...Ryouko(thinks): And she probably would make it.Alice's sd: OK!!Ryouko: ...I think that molecular gastronomy's greatest forte lies in its impact.Ryouko: Look...Even famous restaurants are trying to use those techniques to stage many different dishes.Ryouko: A surprise-filled staging based on chemistry!Ryouko: That raises the expectations towards the flavor whether you like it or not...Ryouko: Nakiri Alice will definitely aim for that...Ryouko: ---Why don't you add staging to the nori Bento?Ryouko: Something that will draw the judges eyes to it...Souma: Hmm, well, that may be a good idea,Souma: But if I don't beat her with the flavor it would be meaningless.Souma: She doesn't look like an opponent I can beat just with pretensions.Ryouko: ......You have a point...

p16Ryouko: Ugh...My head hurts...Souma: Want to pick something sweet?Ryouko: Oh...? How did you get these? (cd: There's lots of candies)Souma: I got the when we went help with the cooking class the other day.Souma: The kids gave them to me when we were about to come back.Kids' sd: WaiiiiitKids' sd: Souma senseiiii, we'll give you thiiiisRyouko: Yukihira-kun, you get people to open up to you in a moment wherever you go...Ryouko: Wah...This takes me back.Ryouko: This was in candy stores and the like.Souma: Right!? This kind of candies have this...Souma: Mysterious excitement to them.

p17Souma: ...Ryouko: Yukihira-kun?Souma: I see...Molecular gastronomy,Souma: Surprising cooking...Huh.Ryouko: You have a good idea, don't you!?Ryouko: Just what is it-?SFX: *evil grin*Ryouko(thinks): Those are his "I'm going to make a new weird dish" eyes---!!

p18Ryouko: Yukihira-kun!! I'm unusually worried about this...! (Mostly about the health of the judges for tomorrow's match)Souma: It's ok, it's ok!Souma: I'm going out for a bit! Thanks for everything, Sakaki!Ryouko: Yukihira-kun...Ryouko: What kind of dish is he planning to present...?Ikumi: ...Nakiri Alice is giving the finishing touches!Ikumi: Just what kind of dish did she make...?Voice: Eh...!?Voice: Wh...What is that!?Ikumi: Nakiri Alice...! She easily exceeds our wildest expectations!